|
DAY 01: NORTH AMERICA / TEL AVIV.
Evening
departure from North America. Dinner and breakfast will be served
on-board our trans-Atlantic flight to Tel Aviv, Israel.
DAY 02: TEL AVIV / JERUSALEM.
Upon
arrival we will be met and transferred to our hotel in Jerusalem for
dinner and overnight.
DAY 03: JERUSALEM / BETHLEHEM.
 Today
we'll walk along the ancient, twisting streets of the Old City of
Jerusalem, exotic Moslem and reconstructed Jewish Quarter incredibly
blending ancient and modern, emerging to gaze in awe at the Western
Wall. Atop the Temple Mount visit the Dome of the Rock and the El Aksa
Mosque. Our tour bus winds through the timeless countryside to
Bethlehem where we will see Rachel's Tomb and the Pools of Solomon. We
will also visit the Church of the Nativity and the Shepherd's Fields.
Return to Jerusalem to our hotel for dinner and overnight.
DAY 04: JERUSALEM.
Ancient
gives way to modern as we visit Mount Scopus and the Mount of Olives,
the Knesset Israel's Parliament, Hadassah Medical Center to see the
Chagall stained-glass windows, Mt. Herzl, Yad Vashem - the immensely
moving memorial to the six million martyrs of the Holocaust - the Hebrew
University, the Israel Museum and the Shrine of the Book that houses the
Dead Sea Scrolls. We will visit Mt. Zion, the Tomb of King David and
the Upper Room. Return to our hotel.
DAY 05: ASHDOD / ASHKELON / NEGEV.
Motor
south to the fabled cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon. Ashdod, frequently
mentioned in the Bible, is today the site of a model port city. In
Ashkelon visit the Roman and Crusader antiquities echoed in modern
history by Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, strongpoint in Negev, land of sharp
contrasts; ancient, new, barren, fertile to Beersheba, its modern
capital and city of Abraham. Return to Jerusalem for overnight.
DAY 06: JERICHO / DEAD SEA / MASADA.
 Our
tour bus descends a quarter mile below sea level to the Dead Sea Plain.
Visit Jericho - perhaps the oldest inhabited city on earth - and Qumran
where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Continue to Masada where we
will ascend the fortress by cable car to visit the incredible last
stronghold of the Jewish defenders. Late afternoon return to Jerusalem to our
hotel for dinner and overnight.
DAY 07: JERUSALEM.
Today is
at leisure to pursue personal activities and enjoy the city as you like,
or visit additional sites with your guide.
DAY 08: JERUSALEM / GALILEE.
 Motor
north through the fertile Jordan Valley and see the Mountains of Moab in
the distance. Visit Beit Shean, the Roman Amphitheater, Belvoir and the
Crusader Fortress. Skirting the Sea of Galilee stop at Tiberias with
it's ancient spa and hot springs. Also visit Capernaum with it's 3rd
century synagogue. Gaze at the Golan Heights and the fertile Hulah
Valley below. See the Banyas Springs - headwaters of the Jordan River.
Continue to our hotel by the Sea of Galilee for dinner. Evening is at
leisure.
DAY 09: GALILEE / HAIFA.
Through groves of olive trees to beautiful hilly Safed, birthplace of
the mystic Cabbala movement, visit the Artist's Colony and ancient
synagogues. Then descend to the coast and Acre with its Crusader port
and Citadel and the prison made famous by "Exodus". Onto Haifa nestled
on the slopes of Mt. Carmel for dinner and overnight.
DAY 10: HAIFA / TEL AVIV.
 Discover
beautiful Haifa including the golden-domed Bahai Temple. On the road to
Tel Aviv visit Beit Shearim, the second century seat of the Sanhedrin.
Continue to Nazareth with the Church of the Annunciation and Joseph's
Workshop. See Megiddo - the Biblical Armageddon. Visit Caesarea with
it's Roman Amphitheater, ruins and excavations. Past green and fertile
farmlands and orchards to Tel Aviv for overnight.
DAY 11: TEL AVIV CITY TOUR / JAFFA /
RISHON LE ZION / REHOVOT.
Tour
modern bustling Tel Aviv and see several of it's attractions: ZOA
House, Mann Auditorium, Helena Rubenstein Art Pavilion and the Habimah
National Theater. At the Tel Aviv University Campus visit the thought
provoking innovative Diaspora Museum. At Jaffa discover the restored
ancient port, the interesting Artists' Quarter and Clock Tower. At
Rishon Le Zion see Israel's first and most famous wine cellars. Then
onto Rehovot to visit the Veizmann Institute of Science. Return to our
hotel for dinner and overnight.
DAY 12: TEL AVIV /
NORTH AMERICA.
Morning
departure from Tel Aviv to North America, the close of our unforgettable
tour. |
